BILL NUMBER: SB 843 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 21, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 24, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Senator Wolk
FEBRUARY 18, 2011
An act to amend Sections 1010 and 1011 of the Military
and Veterans Code, relating to veterans. An act to
amend Sections 216 and 218 of, to repeal Section 2826.5 of, and to
repeal and add Chapter 7.5 (commencing with Section 2830) of Part 2
of Division 1 of, the Public Utilities Code, relating to energy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 843, as amended, Wolk. Veterans' Home of California.
Energy: electrical corporations: City of Davis PVUSA
solar facility: Community-Based Renewable Energy Self-Generation
Program.
(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has
regulatory jurisdiction over public utilities, including electrical
corporations, as defined. Existing law authorizes the commission to
fix the rates and charges for every public utility, and requires that
those rates and charges be just and reasonable. Under existing law,
the local government renewable energy self-generation program
authorizes a local government, as defined, to receive a bill credit,
as defined, to be applied to a designated benefiting account for
electricity exported to the electrical grid by an eligible renewable
generating facility, as defined, and requires the commission to adopt
a rate tariff for the benefiting account.
This bill would repeal these provisions and enact the
Community-Based Renewable Energy Self-Generation Program. The program
would authorize a retail customer of an electrical corporation to
purchase a subscription, as defined, in a community facility, as
defined, for the purpose of receiving a bill credit, as defined, to
offset all or a portion of the customer's electricity usage,
consistent with specified requirements. Under existing law, a
violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule,
direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime.
Because the provisions of the bill would require action by the
commission to implement its requirements, a violation of these
provisions would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding
the definition of a crime.
The bill would provide that any corporation or person engaged
directly or indirectly in developing, producing, delivering,
participating in, or selling interests in, a community facility is
not a public utility or electrical corporation solely by reason of
engaging in any of those activities.
(2) Existing law authorizes the City of Davis to receive a bill
credit, as defined, to a benefiting account, as defined, for
electricity supplied to the electrical grid by a photovoltaic
electricity generation facility located within, and partially owned
by, the city (PVUSA solar facility) and requires the commission to
adopt a rate tariff for the benefiting account.
This bill would repeal these provisions relating to the City of
Davis.
(3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Existing law provides for the establishment and operation of the
Veterans' Home of California at various sites, and for an
administrator for each home or homesite. Existing law defines
"administrator" to mean the Administrator of the Veterans' Home of
California, Yountville, and the Administrator of the Veterans' Home
of California, Barstow.
This bill would update that definition to include the
Administrators of the Veterans' Home of California, Chula Vista, the
Veterans' Home of California, Ventura, the Veterans' Home of
California, Lancaster, and the Veterans' Home of California, West Los
Angeles.
Existing law declares that there is in the Department of Veterans
Affairs a Veterans' Home of California, Yountville, authorizes the
department to construct a second and additional homes and declares
that the second home is a new state function.
This bill would update that provision to declare that additionally
there are in the department a Veterans' Home of California, Barstow,
a Veterans' Home of California, Chula Vista, a Veterans' Home of
California, Lancaster, a Veterans' Home of California, Ventura, and a
Veterans' Home of California, West Los Angeles. This bill would also
declare that all homes are a new state function.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no
yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 216 of the Public
Utilities Code is amended to read:
216. (a) "Public utility" includes every common carrier, toll
bridge corporation, pipeline corporation, gas corporation, electrical
corporation, telephone corporation, telegraph corporation, water
corporation, sewer system corporation, and heat corporation, where
the service is performed for, or the commodity is delivered to, the
public or any portion thereof.
(b) Whenever any common carrier, toll bridge corporation, pipeline
corporation, gas corporation, electrical corporation, telephone
corporation, telegraph corporation, water corporation, sewer system
corporation, or heat corporation performs a service for, or delivers
a commodity to, the public or any portion thereof for which any
compensation or payment whatsoever is received, that common carrier,
toll bridge corporation, pipeline corporation, gas corporation,
electrical corporation, telephone corporation, telegraph corporation,
water corporation, sewer system corporation, or heat corporation, is
a public utility subject to the jurisdiction, control, and
regulation of the commission and the provisions of this part.
(c) When any person or corporation performs any service for, or
delivers any commodity to, any person, private corporation,
municipality, or other political subdivision of the state, that in
turn either directly or indirectly, mediately or immediately,
performs that service for, or delivers that commodity to, the public
or any portion thereof, that person or corporation is a public
utility subject to the jurisdiction, control, and regulation of the
commission and the provisions of this part.
(d) Ownership or operation of a facility that employs cogeneration
technology or produces power from other than a conventional power
source or the ownership or operation of a facility which employs
landfill gas technology does not make a corporation or person a
public utility within the meaning of this section solely because of
the ownership or operation of that facility.
(e) Any corporation or person engaged directly or indirectly in
developing, producing, transmitting, distributing, delivering, or
selling any form of heat derived from geothermal or solar resources
or from cogeneration technology to any privately owned or publicly
owned public utility, or to the public or any portion thereof, is not
a public utility within the meaning of this section solely by reason
of engaging in any of those activities.
(f) The ownership or operation of a facility that sells compressed
natural gas at retail to the public for use only as a motor vehicle
fuel, and the selling of compressed natural gas at retail from that
facility to the public for use only as a motor vehicle fuel, does not
make the corporation or person a public utility within the meaning
of this section solely because of that ownership, operation, or sale.
(g) Ownership or operation of a facility that is an exempt
wholesale generator, as defined in the Public Utility Holding Company
Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 16451(6)), does not make a corporation
or person a public utility within the meaning of this section, solely
due to the ownership or operation of that facility.
(h) The ownership, control, operation, or management of an
electric plant used for direct transactions or participation directly
or indirectly in direct transactions, as permitted by subdivision
(b) of Section 365, sales into a market established and operated by
the Independent System Operator or any other wholesale electricity
market, or the use or sale as permitted under subdivisions (b) to
(d), inclusive, of Section 218, shall not make a corporation or
person a public utility within the meaning of this section solely
because of that ownership, participation, or sale.
(i) A corporation or person engaged directly or indirectly in
developing, producing, delivering, participating in, or selling
interests in, a community facility pursuant to Chapter 7.5
(commencing with Section 2830) of Part 2, is not a public utility
within the meaning of this section solely by reason of engaging in
any of those activities.
SEC. 2. Section 218 of the Public
Utilities Code is amended to read:
218. (a) "Electrical corporation" includes every corporation or
person owning, controlling, operating, or managing any electric plant
for compensation within this state, except where electricity is
generated on or distributed by the producer through private property
solely for its own use or the use of its tenants and not for sale or
transmission to others.
(b) "Electrical corporation" does not include a corporation or
person employing cogeneration technology or producing power from
other than a conventional power source for the generation of
electricity solely for any one or more of the following purposes:
(1) Its own use or the use of its tenants.
(2) The use of or sale to not more than two other corporations or
persons solely for use on the real property on which the electricity
is generated or on real property immediately adjacent thereto, unless
there is an intervening public street constituting the boundary
between the real property on which the electricity is generated and
the immediately adjacent property and one or more of the following
applies:
(A) The real property on which the electricity is generated and
the immediately adjacent real property is not under common ownership
or control, or that common ownership or control was gained solely for
purposes of sale of the electricity so generated and not for other
business purposes.
(B) The useful thermal output of the facility generating the
electricity is not used on the immediately adjacent property for
petroleum production or refining.
(C) The electricity furnished to the immediately adjacent property
is not utilized by a subsidiary or affiliate of the corporation or
person generating the electricity.
(3) Sale or transmission to an electrical corporation or state or
local public agency, but not for sale or transmission to others,
unless the corporation or person is otherwise an electrical
corporation.
(c) "Electrical corporation" does not include a corporation or
person employing landfill gas technology for the generation of
electricity for any one or more of the following purposes:
(1) Its own use or the use of not more than two of its tenants
located on the real property on which the electricity is generated.
(2) The use of or sale to not more than two other corporations or
persons solely for use on the real property on which the electricity
is generated.
(3) Sale or transmission to an electrical corporation or state or
local public agency.
(d) "Electrical corporation" does not include a corporation or
person employing digester gas technology for the generation of
electricity for any one or more of the following purposes:
(1) Its own use or the use of not more than two of its tenants
located on the real property on which the electricity is generated.
(2) The use of or sale to not more than two other corporations or
persons solely for use on the real property on which the electricity
is generated.
(3) Sale or transmission to an electrical corporation or state or
local public agency, if the sale or transmission of the electricity
service to a retail customer is provided through the transmission
system of the existing local publicly owned electric utility or
electrical corporation of that retail customer.
(e) "Electrical corporation" does not include an independent solar
energy producer, as defined in Article 3 (commencing with Section
2868) of Chapter 9 of Part 2.
(f) The amendments made to this section at the 1987 portion of the
1987-88 Regular Session of the Legislature do not apply to any
corporation or person employing cogeneration technology or producing
power from other than a conventional power source for the generation
of electricity that physically produced electricity prior to January
1, 1989, and furnished that electricity to immediately adjacent real
property for use thereon prior to January 1, 1989.
(g) A corporation or person engaged directly or indirectly in
developing, producing, delivering, participating in, or selling
interests in, a community facility pursuant to Chapter 7.5
(commencing with Section 2830) of Part 2, is not an electrical
corporation within the meaning of this section solely by reason of
engaging in any of those activities.
SEC. 3. Section 2826.5 of the Public
Utilities Code is repealed.
2826.5. (a) As used in this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Benefiting account" means an electricity account, or more
than one account, mutually agreed upon by Pacific Gas and Electric
Company and the City of Davis.
(2) "Bill credit" means credits calculated based upon the
electricity generation component of the rate schedule applicable to a
benefiting account, as applied to the net metered quantities of
electricity.
(3) "PVUSA" means the photovoltaic electricity generation facility
selected by the City of Davis, located at 24662 County Road, Davis,
California, with a rated peak electricity generation capacity of 600
kilowatts, and as it may be expanded, not to exceed one megawatt of
peak generation capacity.
(4) "Net metered" means the electricity output from the PVUSA.
(5) "Environmental attributes" associated with the PVUSA include,
but are not limited to, the credits, benefits, emissions reductions,
environmental air quality credits, and emissions reduction credits,
offsets, and allowances, however entitled resulting from the
avoidance of the emission of any gas, chemical, or other substance
attributable to the PVUSA.
(b) The City of Davis may elect to designate a benefiting account,
or more than one account, to receive bill credit for the electricity
generated by the PVUSA, if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) A benefiting account receives service under a time-of-use rate
schedule.
(2) The electricity output of the PVUSA is metered for time of use
to allow allocation of each bill credit to correspond to the
time-of-use period of a benefiting account.
(3) All costs associated with the metering requirements of
paragraphs (1) and (2) are the responsibility of the City of Davis.
(4) All electricity delivered to the electrical grid by the PVUSA
is the property of Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
(5) PVUSA does not sell electricity delivered to the electrical
grid to a third party.
(6) The right, title, and interest in the environmental attributes
associated with the electricity delivered to the electrical grid by
the PVUSA are the property of Nuon Renewable Ventures USA, LLC.
(c) A benefiting account shall be billed on a monthly basis, as
follows:
(1) For all electricity usage, the rate schedule applicable to the
benefiting account, including any surcharge, exit fee, or other cost
recovery mechanism, as determined by the commission, to reimburse
the Department of Water Resources for purchases of electricity,
pursuant to Division 27 (commencing with Section 80000) of the Water
Code.
(2) The rate schedule for the benefiting account shall also
provide credit for the generation component of the time-of-use rates
for the electricity generated by the PVUSA that is delivered to the
electrical grid. The generation component credited to the benefiting
account may not include the surcharge, exit fee, or other cost
recovery mechanism, as determined by the commission, to reimburse the
Department of Water Resources for purchases of electricity, pursuant
to Division 27 (commencing with Section 80000) of the Water Code.
(3) If in any billing cycle, the charge pursuant to paragraph (1)
for electricity usage exceeds the billing credit pursuant to
paragraph (2), the City of Davis shall be charged for the difference.
(4) If in any billing cycle, the billing credit pursuant to
paragraph (2), exceeds the charge for electricity usage pursuant to
paragraph (1), the difference shall be carried forward as a credit to
the next billing cycle.
(5) After the electricity usage charge pursuant to paragraph (1)
and the credit pursuant to paragraph (2) are determined for the last
billing cycle of a calendar year, any remaining credit resulting from
the application of this section shall be reset to zero.
(d) Not more frequently that once per year, and upon providing
Pacific Gas and Electric Company with a minimum of 60 days notice,
the City of Davis may elect to change a benefiting account. Any
credit resulting from the application of this section earned prior to
the change in a benefiting account that has not been used as of the
date of the change in the benefit account, shall be applied, and may
only be applied, to a benefiting account as changed.
(e) Pacific Gas and Electric Company shall file an advice letter
with the Public Utilities Commission, that complies with this
section, not later than 10 days after the effective date of this
section, proposing a rate tariff for a benefiting account. The
commission, within 30 days of the date of filing, shall approve the
proposed tariff, or specify conforming changes to be made by Pacific
Gas and Electric Company to be filed in a new advice letter.
(f) The City of Davis may terminate its election pursuant to
subdivision (b), upon providing Pacific Gas and Electric Company with
a minimum of 60 days notice. Should the City of Davis sell its
interest in the PVUSA, or sell the electricity generated by the
PVUSA, in a manner other than required by this section, upon the date
of either event, and the earliest date if both events occur, no
further bill credit pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) may
be earned. Only credit earned prior to that date shall be made to a
benefiting account.
(g) The Legislature finds and declares that credit for a
benefiting account for the electricity output from the PVUSA are in
the public interest in order to value the production of this unique,
wholly renewable resource electricity generation facility located in,
and owned in part by, the City of Davis. Because of the unique
circumstances applicable only to the PVUSA a statute of general
applicability cannot be enacted within the meaning of subdivision (b)
of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution.
Therefore, this special statute is necessary.
SEC. 4. Chapter 7.5 (commencing with Section 2830)
of Part 2 of Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code
is repealed.
SEC. 5. Chapter 7.5 (commencing with Section 2830)
is added to Part 2 of Division 1 of the Public Utilities
Code , to read:
CHAPTER 7.5. COMMUNITY-BASED RENEWABLE ENERGY SELF-GENERATION
PROGRAM
2830. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Despite the fact that all customers of California electrical
corporations fund current self-generation programs, residential and
commercial renters, small businesses, public entities, and low- and
moderate-income Californians usually do not have the ability to
participate fully in current self-generation programs. The purpose of
this chapter is to provide all Californians with the opportunity to
self-generate electricity utilizing renewable energy resources
through the Community-Based Renewable Energy Self-Generation Program.
It is in the public interest to promote broader participation in
self-generation by California residents, public agencies, and
businesses by the development of community renewable energy
self-generation facilities in which participants are entitled to
generate and receive electricity generated by renewable energy
resources through an over-the-fence transaction.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that public schools have
the authority to invest in renewable energy self-generation
facilities to generate electricity as provided in this chapter.
Energy usage is one of the most significant cost pressures facing
public schools at a time when schools have been forced to cut
essential programs, increase classroom sizes, and send pink slips to
teachers throughout the state. Schools may use the savings for
restoring funds for salaries, student achievement, facility
maintenance, and other budgetary needs. The renewable energy
self-generation projects that will go forward under this chapter
would create new green construction jobs, stimulate the economy,
generate funding, and provide more electricity generated by clean,
renewable sources to customers.
(c) Community-based renewable energy self-generation facilities
will contribute to the achievement of the 33 percent renewables
portfolio standard in a cost-effective manner and will assist in
meeting the state's zero net energy buildings goals. This chapter
provides job creation, environmental protection, and school funding
for those who choose to make the investment in community-based
renewable energy self-generation facilities.
2831. As used in this chapter, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) "Allocated credit" means the percentage of the gross credit
that will be further allocated to an individual benefiting account.
(b) "Benefiting account" means one or more accounts designated to
receive a bill credit pursuant to Section 2832.
(c) "Bill credit" means an amount of money credited to one or more
benefiting accounts based on the percentage share of the community
facility that is assigned to the account.
(d) "Community facility" means a facility for the generation of
electricity that meets all of the following requirements:
(1) Has a generating capacity of no more than 20 megawatts.
(2) Is an eligible renewable energy resource pursuant to Article
16 (commencing with Section 399.11) of Chapter 2.3 of Part 1.
(3) The electrical output of the facility is measured by a
production meter capable of recording production in real time.
(4) Sells subscriptions to the electrical output of the facility.
(5) Is located in California.
(e) "Gross credit" means the metered kilowatthours of electrical
output of the community facility exported to the grid, as measured at
the point of common coupling.
(f) "Local government" means a city, county, city and county,
special district, school district, political subdivision, or other
local governmental entity.
(g) "Subscriber" means a retail customer of an electrical
corporation who owns a subscription and who has designated one or
more benefiting accounts to which the subscription shall be
attributed, including a local government, the California Community
Colleges, the California State University, and the University of
California.
(h) "Subscriber organization" means any for-profit or nonprofit
organization or business, created and operating pursuant to law,
whose purpose is to beneficially own or operate a community facility
for the subscribers to the community facility.
(i) "Subscription" means an interest in a community facility.
2832. (a) (1) A retail customer of an electrical utility may
purchase a subscription in a community facility for the purpose of
self-generation. The subscriber shall designate one or more
benefiting accounts to which the subscription shall be attributed.
(2) To be eligible to be designated as a benefiting account, the
account shall be for service to premises located within the
geographical boundaries of the service territory of the electrical
corporation containing the community facility, or within the
geographical boundaries of a contiguous service territory, if the
electrical corporation or local publicly owned electric utility for
that service territory have entered into an agreement enabling the
connection of the benefiting account to the community facility.
(b) (1) Each subscription shall be sized to represent at least one
kilowatt of the community facility's generating capacity.
(2) A subscriber shall not purchase more than 2 megawatts of
capacity in any single community facility. This subdivision does not
apply to a local government.
(3) A subscriber organization may beneficially own or operate a
community facility for the subscribers to the community facility. A
community facility may be built, owned, or operated by a third party
under contract with a subscriber organization.
(4) Prior to a sale of a subscription, the subscriber organization
shall provide a disclosure to the customer that, at a minimum,
includes all of the following:
(A) A good faith estimate of the annual kilowatthours to be
delivered by the community facility based on the size of the
subscription.
(B) A plain language explanation of the terms under which the bill
credits will be calculated.
(C) A plain language explanation of the contract provisions
regulating the disposition or transfer of the subscription.
(5) The commission shall not regulate the prices paid for the
shares of a community facility.
(c) Local governments may aggregate their loads for the purpose of
participating in a community facility pursuant to this section.
(d) (1) A subscriber organization shall provide to the electrical
corporation information on the identity of the benefiting accounts
that will receive a bill credit pursuant to this section not less
then 30 days prior to the commencement of the operations of the
community facility.
(2) For a local government that elects to aggregate its loads for
the purpose of purchasing a subscription, if the local government has
more than one benefiting account, the owner or operator of the
facility shall designate the specific accounts and percentage
allocations to which the bill credit shall apply.
(3) A subscriber organization shall be responsible for all costs
of metering and shall retain production data for a period of 36
months. The subscriber organization shall provide real-time meter
data to the electrical corporation and shall make the data available
to the subscribers upon request.
(e) (1) Not more frequently than once per month, and upon
providing the electrical corporation with a minimum of 30 days'
notice, the subscriber organization may change, add, or remove a
benefiting account. If the owner of a benefiting account transfers
service to a new benefiting account, the electrical corporation shall
transfer any credit remaining from the previous account to the new
account.
(2) A subscriber organization shall be responsible for providing
to the electrical corporation, on a monthly basis, the percentage
shares to be used to determine the bill credit to each benefiting
account.
(f) The following billing process shall be used when billing a
benefiting account:
(1) The subscriber shall be billed and is responsible for paying
all charges of the subscriber's otherwise applicable tariff,
including any cost-responsibility surcharge or other cost recovery
mechanism, as determined by the commission, to reimburse the
Department of Water Resources for purchases of electricity pursuant
to Division 27 (commencing with Section 80000) of the Water Code.
Community facilities shall not be subject to any other departing load
charge.
(2) Each month the subscriber organization shall determine the
allocated credits, in kilowatthours, that shall be applied to a
subscriber's benefiting account and provide that information to the
electrical corporation.
(3) The electrical corporation shall subtract the kilowatthours of
the allocated credit from the subscriber's metered usage to
determine the bill credit to be applied to the subscriber's bill. The
electrical corporation's charges shall apply to the kilowatthour
difference based upon the subscriber's otherwise applicable tariff.
Nongeneration charges shall additionally be applied to the allocated
credit, except that for community facilities that are interconnected
at the distribution level, the transmission component of the
subscriber's otherwise applicable tariff shall not be applied to the
allocated credits. The bill may reflect either a charge or a credit.
(4) For a subscriber with an otherwise applicable tariff with
tiered rates, the subscriber organization shall first subtract
allocated credits from the highest tier of usage, and upon exhaustion
of that tier of usage, to the next highest tier, until all of the
allocated credit has been
subtracted.
(5) For a subscriber with an otherwise applicable tariff with
time-of-use rates, the subscriber organization shall subtract
allocated credits for each time-of-use period from the energy usage
for that same time-of-use period.
(6) A subscriber shall pay their bill, if charges are owed, on a
monthly basis. Bill credits, if any, shall be carried over to the
following billing period.
(g) A subscriber organization shall provide not less than 120 days'
notice to the electrical corporation prior to the date the community
facility becomes operational.
(h) An electrical corporation shall ensure that requests for
establishment of bill credits and changes to benefiting accounts are
processed in a time period not to exceed 30 days from the date it
receives the request.
(i) If a subscriber sells or cancels its interest in, or contract
with the owner or operator of, the community facility, or sells the
electricity generated by the community facility in a manner that is
not authorized by this section, upon the date of that event, no
further bill credit may be earned pursuant to this section, and only
credit earned prior to that date may be assigned by the subscriber
organization to a new benefiting account.
(j) In lieu of departing load charges and charges for applying the
bill credits and to ensure that no costs are shifted from
subscribers to nonparticipating retail customers, the electrical
corporation shall own the renewable energy credits generated by a
community facility and the electricity generated by community
facilities shall be taken into account when determining if the
electrical corporation has met its renewables portfolio standard
procurement requirements pursuant to Article 16 (commencing with
Section 399.11) of Chapter 2.3 of Part 1.
(k) This section does not require an electrical corporation to
purchase electricity from a community facility.
(l) (1) A community facility may elect to provide electricity only
or electricity and capacity. An electrical corporation shall ensure
that a request for a distribution level interconnection agreement
from a community facility is processed in a time period not to exceed
90 working days from the date the electrical corporation receives a
completed application for interconnection.
(2) All costs associated with interconnection are the
responsibility of the owner or operator of the community facility.
The community facility shall apply for transmission level
interconnections through the Independent System Operator's generation
interconnection process.
(m) An electrical utility shall cooperate fully with community
facilities to implement this section.
(n) An electrical utility shall comply with the requirements
applicable to commercial speech described in Public Utilities
Commission Decision 10-05-050 as applied to the development, sale of
subscriptions, and operation of community facilities. Community
facilities may file a complaint with the commission for violation of
this subdivision.
SEC. 6. No reimbursement is required by this act
pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local
agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a
new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or
changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of
Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a
crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution.
SECTION 1. Section 1010 of the Military and
Veterans Code is amended to read:
1010. As used in this chapter:
(a) "Home" means the Veterans' Home of California, Yountville, and
the Veterans' Home of California, Barstow.
(b) "Administrator" means the Administrator of the Veterans' Home
of California, Yountville, and the Administrator of each site of the
southern California Veterans' Home, including, but not limited to,
the Veterans' Home of California, Barstow, the Veterans' Home of
California, Chula Vista, the Veterans' Home of California, Ventura,
the Veterans' Home of California, Lancaster, and the Veterans' Home
of California, West Los Angeles.
(c) "Department" means the Department of Veterans Affairs.
(d) "Director" means the Director of Veterans Affairs.
(e) "Veteran" means a member of the home.
SEC. 2. Section 1011 of the Military and
Veterans Code is amended to read:
1011. (a) There is in the department a Veterans' Home of
California, Yountville, situated at Veterans' Home, Napa County.
(b) There is in the department a Veterans' Home of California,
Barstow, situated in San Bernardino County.
(c) There is in the department a Veterans' Home of California,
Chula Vista, situated in San Diego County.
(d) There is in the department a Veterans' Home of California,
Lancaster, situated in Los Angeles County.
(e) There is in the department a Veterans' Home of California,
Ventura, situated in Ventura County.
(f) There is in the department a Veterans' Home of California,
West Los Angeles, situated in Los Angeles County.
(g) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the homes are a
new state function. The department may perform any or all work in
operating the homes by independent contractors, except the overall
administration and management of the homes. Any and all actions of
the department taken before September 17, 1996, that are consistent
with this subdivision are hereby ratified and confirmed, it having at
all times been the intent of the Legislature that the department be
so authorized.
(h) There shall be an administrator for each home or homesite, who
shall be recommended by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and
appointed by the Governor, and shall be located at that home or
homesite. The salary for each administrator shall be subject to the
approval of the Department of Personnel Administration.